


Coincidences and Superheroes

by patrochilles_trash



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Peter Parker, Fluff, Good Peter, Identity Reveal, M/M, POV Original Character, Peter Parker Has a Family, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Sassy Peter, Sort of hurt/comfort, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, anyway this is cute and i actually kinda like this one, for some seasoning you know, i live for sassy peter, just a little, lab fic, trust me on this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:06:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28951650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patrochilles_trash/pseuds/patrochilles_trash
Summary: He rubbed forcefully at his eyes, thinking that it was some sort of hallucination brought on by too much caffeine and not enough sleep, but when Alex dropped his hands, the kid was still there.He had to say something. He couldn’t justnotsay anything.“Uh, c-can I help you?”The kid nearly jumped out of his skin, smacking his head on the shelf above him in surprise. He whirled around to find the source of the sound, and Alex was met with the biggest deep brown doe eyes he’d ever seen in his life.“Jesus, sneak up on a guy next time, why don’t you?” the kid hissed, placing a hand over his heart dramatically.“Sorry. I-“ Alex stopped himself.Why washeapologizing? He was the adult here.ORAlex and the other R&D interns meet the whirlwind that is Peter Parker, and they learn something about him that they honestly probably should have noticed sooner.Alex just wants one normal day in his life.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Other(s), Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, implied
Comments: 36
Kudos: 1273
Collections: Irondad_and_Spideyson, The Best Irondad/Spiderson Fics, The Best Peter Parker Fluff Fics, The Best Peter Parker Whump Fics, The Best of the Best MCU Fics, god tier peter parker fics, love of marvel





	Coincidences and Superheroes

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [research and disaster](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22827064) by [blueh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueh/pseuds/blueh). 



> Hey guys! I've been playing with this idea for a while, but I could never make it into something that I liked until now. I actually don't hate this fic for once lmao
> 
> Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and supporting my works. It means the world. 
> 
> (always open to fic suggestions too btw)
> 
> ((oh and you can follow me on tumblr @madeof-memories if u want))
> 
> (((love u guys)))

Alex really loved interning for Stark Industries, and he considered himself incredibly lucky to be one of the few graduate students accepted into the company every summer. The opportunities that awaited him with Tony Stark’s seal of approval on his resume became nearly infinite.

The other scientists and interns were intelligent, welcoming, and hilarious all in their own rights. He really couldn’t think of a bad thing to say about his position as an R&D Intern or about his boss. 

No, not the lead interns, scientists, or even division heads. The big boss, Tony Stark. 

Granted, Alex hadn’t had too many interactions with the superhero, most of which just being in the same room as the man while he spoke with other employees.

Even though he regularly wasn’t the tallest man in the room, Tony Stark still had a way of taking up every inch of occupiable space with his sheer presence alone. He was all smiles and encouragement, but his essence emanated the power of the world’s most powerful businessman. 

It honestly frightened Alex, and he prayed that he could come out of this internship without ever saying more than five words to the man for fear of sounding like the biggest idiot to ever exist. 

In terms of the work that he did down in the intern labs, he had relative free-will when it came to creativity as long he could maintain the support of one of the scientists in the division, and most of the time, his projects kept him in the labs late into the night. 

One of these late-night lab benders is how he found himself in one of the strangest situations he had ever come across to date. 

There was this kid that couldn’t have been older that fifteen standing on the counter to reach the Hazardous Chemicals Cabinet, rummaging through it and humming like it was a kitchen pantry.

The kid had light brown, wavy hair, and he was dressed in what looked like oil covered gray sweatpants, a science pun t-shirt, and crocs. 

Definitely not company dress-code. 

Alex stood there in stunned silence for a few moments. He couldn’t even begin to process the sight before him. 

Never mind the fact that it took an Intern Lead to even get into that cabinet, it was nearly two in the morning, and he never even heard another person come in through the door. 

He rubbed forcefully at his eyes, thinking that it was some sort of hallucination brought on by too much caffeine and not enough sleep, but when Alex dropped his hands, the kid was still there. 

He had to say something. He couldn’t just _not_ say anything.

“Uh, c-can I help you?”

The kid nearly jumped out of his skin, smacking his head on the shelf above him in surprise. He whirled around to find the source of the sound, and Alex was met with the biggest deep brown doe eyes he’d ever seen in his life. 

“ _Jesus_ , sneak up on a guy next time, why don’t you?” the kid hissed, placing a hand over his heart dramatically. 

“Sorry. I-“ Alex stopped himself. 

Why was _he_ apologizing? He was the adult here. 

The adult that had _access_ to be here. 

He cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders back, trying to look more confident than he felt.

“You can’t be in here. This area is off-limits.” 

Alex only got a raised eyebrow in response, and he floundered for a second, trying to think of what else he could say. 

“I ran out of phenol formaldehyde in back in the lab, and Friday said that this lab has the most in excess. I didn’t want to take some from a lab that was already running low,” the kid said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Phenol formal- listen, kid, I don’t know who you are or how you got in here, but-“

“Peter.”

“What?”

“Peter. My name is Peter.” 

“Fine, _Peter_ , like I was saying, I’ll do you a favor, and I won’t rat you out to the Division Lead, but you really need to run off to where you came from,” Alex said, putting his proverbial foot down. 

He was actually proud of how commanding his voice sounded. 

The kid, Peter, actually had the nerve to throw his head back and laugh. 

He turned and scanned the shelves one more time before plucking a jar off the second shelf and hopped down from the counter. 

“You do that, man,” Peter said, strolling out of the side doors. 

Alex stood in the same spot, his jaw slack. The kid didn’t scan any badge, and thinking back, he didn’t even have a visible badge to scan. 

He was convinced he just saw a ghost. There was no other explanation for why there was some random teenager named Peter in an intern lab in the middle of the night that had that kind of access. 

“That’s enough for me tonight,” Alex said to himself, promptly turning on his heel to gather his things and leave for the night. 

**&**

“Dude, there is no way that there’s a ghost roaming through SI,” Kiara said, rolling her eyes. 

“You mean to tell me that it makes more sense that some kid is running around the place with crazy amounts of access?” Damian countered, waving his fork in her face. 

The dark-skinned woman smacked his hand away.

Alex had immediately told the other interns in the lab about his late-night encounter, and they were avidly debating the explanation over their lunch break. 

“See! That’s what I’m saying! It was freaky. He just like laughs at me and waltzes out the damn lab like he owns the place.”

“Did any of you ever stop to think that maybe Stark has a kid?” Kiara deadpanned.

Jessica choked on her water. 

“I think we would know if Tony Stark had a son. His private life isn’t exactly private,” she said after recovering. 

Damian hummed thoughtfully. 

“That would make sense though. Like, how much do we actually know about the guy? We rarely see him, and he’s apparently been a lot tamer these days.”

“No. No way. If he had some secret love child, the media would have caught wind of it at some point. I’m more inclined to believe that Alex saw a ghost,” Tristan said, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“And you’re sure you weren’t hallucinating?” Kiara prodded. 

“It was way too real,” Alex said.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she huffed. 

**&**

Some part of Alex felt triumphant when the group got back to their lab to see that Peter kid hunched over a computer at the main lab table, but the other part of him wanted to check himself into a mental facility because there was no way this was actually real. 

“Holy shit. Are we all hallucinating?” Damian breathed. 

This was definitely real.

Peter glanced up from where he was furiously typing and shot them a blinding grin. 

“Hey guys!” he chirped. 

“What- uh, what’s going on here?” Jessica asked. 

Alex was surprised that she could think of that many words because he was sure that someone had permanently turned his brain off.

“Oh, well, someone had e-mailed a Division Lead about a code sequencing issue, but he couldn’t figure it out, so it went up to Mr. Stark to solve, but he’s in a meeting right now, and it seemed like it was really important that it got fixed so Mr. Stark sent me down here to rewrite the code and correct the problem,” Peter rambled, not bothering to look back up at any of them or stop typing.

Or breathe for that matter.

“Should we call security?” Kiara asked quietly, shifting her head to the other interns, but refusing to take her eyes off of Peter. 

This time the kid did look up, and he crinkled his nose. 

“Man, what is with you guys and security? First the guy last night, and- oh, hey! You’re the guy that scared the hell out of me last night!” Peter turned his impossibly large eyes to Alex, and he was convinced that nothing was real, and he was still in bed at home dreaming. 

“I, uh- well-“

“Anyway, no need to call security. It’ll just cause a few dudes to come up here, and then I’d have to get Happy involved, and if Happy gets involved then he’ll have to tell Mr. Stark, and Mr. Stark is in a meeting like I said, and it would really just be this huge hassle.”

This kid spoke way too fast. Alex felt like his head was about to spin off of his shoulders any minute now, and taking one glance at his colleagues, he could tell they felt the same way. 

“So, you mean to tell me that you know Tony Stark personally?” Damian asked, taking a hesitant step forward.

Peter nodded. 

“Yep. I’ve been his intern for,” he paused to look up at the ceiling in thought, “two years now? Yeah, that sounds right.”

“You’re Tony Stark’s intern?” 

Damian’s voice was higher than Alex had ever heard it. 

“I literally just said that,” the kid deadpanned. 

Kiara shook her head and huffed. 

“I’m going to need more confirmation than that.” 

Alex was thankful that one of them had a functioning brain cell at the moment because he never would have thought of that. 

“Friday?” Peter asked, raising a challenging eyebrow at Kiara. 

Damn that kid had balls. Alex was still scared of Kiara. 

“Come on, kid, you don’t just have access to Stark’s AI. There’s only-“

Damian was cut off. 

“I can confirm that Peter is Mr. Stark’s personal intern, and that he did send him down here to troubleshoot a sequencing code,” the AI said brightly. 

The smirk on the kid’s face set Alex on edge. Who the hell was this kid, and how did he get to be Tony Stark’s personal intern? _How did he have the ability to just talk to Friday?_

Jessica laughed incredulously. 

“Well, I guess that solves that. I have to ask though. What makes you think that you can fix a code that the Division Lead can’t even figure out?”

Alex knew that was a fair question, and he was itching to know the answer. 

“Easy. I made it,” Peter shrugged. 

“Bullshit,” Tristan breathed, his brows furrowed in confusion. 

“Well, considering I just fixed it, come see for yourself.” 

All five interns hesitantly made their way around the table to peer over Peter’s shoulder at the computer. 

The sequencing program that had Alicia stumped for weeks was running smoother than it ever had. 

Alex kept trying to convince himself that this was all still just a dream. 

“What had happened was the last person that worked on this, messed up a pattern in one of the lines, and it threw the whole thing off. It was an easy mistake, especially since this stuff all starts to look the same after a while. I rewrote everything after the error so you guys didn’t lose any work, and I made some fine-tuning adjustments so you should see a performance improvement as well,” Peter explained, rolling through hundreds on lines of codes. 

Damian whistled appreciatively. 

“You’re insane, kid.”

“I’ve been told,” Peter laughed, “Anyway, I- _shit_ Mr. Stark is coming. I need to hide!”

Alex recoiled. Hide? Didn’t the kid just say he was his personal intern? How did he even know that the man was coming anyway? 

“Why do you need to hide?” Tristan asked, voicing the question that Alex’s question for him. 

Peter’s gaze darted around the room, and he dove under a table closest to the wall. 

“No time! If he asks where I went, just tell him that you haven’t seen me!” he whisper-shouted. 

Seconds later, Tony Stark himself stalked into the intern lab, looking for all the world like a man on a mission. 

Alex felt like passing out. 

“Any of you seen a teenage brat running around? He’s about yay high, brown hair, doesn’t shut up for more than three seconds? Friday told me I’d find him here,” he asked coolly, looking to each of their faces. 

The man was annoyed. That much was obviously clear. 

The interns all pointed to the desk where Peter was hiding, ratting the kid out without a second thought. There was no chance in Hell that they were lying to Tony Stark in his own building. 

Tony rolled his eyes. 

“Get your scrawny ass out from under there right now,” he barked. 

If Alex hadn’t have known any better, it sounded almost fatherly. 

Peter groaned and crawled out from under his hiding spot.

“Traitors,” he grumbled.

Alex didn’t even feel bad. 

Tony put his hands on his hips and looked at the teen expectantly. 

“Care to tell me why all of my tools are stuck to the table with Spiderman’s webbing?”

Alex felt his eyes nearly bug out of his head. The hero was clearly insinuating that his personal intern sabotaged not only his lab, but also used another Avenger’s gear to do it. He was starting to think that the kid had a death wish. 

Peter folded his arms across his chest and stared the man down with an equally unamused expression.

This kid absolutely had a death wish. It was like he had no idea who he was even talking to. 

“It’s payback! You let me drink one of DUM-E’s smoothies!”

“You’re the one that took the smoothie from him in the first place! You know what he does to those things,” Tony said, his tone exasperated as he threw his hands up. 

Alex was definitely dreaming because there was a ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of the ruthless businessman’s lips. 

“You could have _said something_!” 

“And where’s the fun in that, Underoos?”

Alex turned to look at the others to make sure that they were all watching the same interaction. The slacked jaws and wide eyes confirmed it. Tony Stark had an endearing nickname for someone that blatantly disrespected him and vandalized his lab. 

“I hate you,” Peter pouted.

An honest to God _pout_.

“No, you don’t,” Tony stepped forward to ruffle Peter’s hair, “Don’t think you’re getting away with this either, cucciolo.” 

Peter narrowed his eyes. 

“You’ve got one of two options here. You can go back upstairs, unstick all of my tools and run Pepper’s errands for the next three days, or you can go back upstairs, unstick all of my tools and help these guys down here for the next three days. Either way you’re cleaning up your mess, and you’re not allowed back in our lab for the next three days.” 

No one missed the use of ‘our lab.’ Tony Stark shared his personal lab with a teenager. Nothing in the world made sense anymore. 

Peter let his head fall back and groaned. 

“You could just fire me instead.”

Alex heard a few strangled gasps next to him, and he felt like yelling. This kid held such a coveted position, and he just suggested that he would rather get _fired_ than help Pepper Potts or work in an intern lab for a few days. 

For a frightening second, he was sure that the man was going to follow through with it. 

“Unfortunately enough, I’m attached, and Steve and Pep would actually kill me if I got rid of you.” 

“That’s because they like me more,” Peter teased, _sticking his tongue out_ at the most powerful man in the modern world. 

“Because somehow you’ve managed to turn both my CEO and my husband against me,” Tony shook his head, “So, what’ll it be, kiddo? Pepper or R&D interns?”

Peter looked over at them and smirked. Alex was starting to question if Kiara was right. Maybe Tony Stark did have a secret child. 

“I think I’ll hang out here. I kinda like these guys.”

“Good choice, smartass. You’re still coming back up to undo that disaster up there.” 

Tony caught Alex’s eyes, his own twinkling with an emotion that the intern couldn’t place.

“Well, ladies and gents, you heard it here. One Peter Parker at your service for the next three days. I’ll bring him back in a few hours and give you the official rundown of this twerp when he’s done.”

The hero slipped an arm over Peter’s shoulders and led the petulant teen out, grinning in victory. 

No one said anything until the lab doors had firmly closed behind the two. 

“Everyone else saw that too, right?” Damian asked almost reverently.

Alex could only nod dumbly, his brain still trying to catch up. He wasn’t even convinced it _would_ catch up. 

“I didn’t know Stark had a personal intern,” Tristan said. 

“That’s because his last one became the CEO,” Jessica responded, still staring that the spot where they left. 

“That’s a literal child. How does a kid get that kind of position?” Kiara asked.

“I mean, you saw how he fixed that code sequence. He’s got to be a genius if he can not only keep up with Mr. Stark but also go toe-to-toe with him. The only other person I’ve seen stare him down that isn’t a fucking superhero is Ms. Potts, but she’s scarier than him.”

Alex had to agree with Damian there, on nearly every point, but especially on how terrifying the CEO could be. Another, arguably more frightening, thought came to him. 

“Didn’t Peter say that he was Ms. Potts’s favorite, or did I imagine that?”

“Captain America’s too,” Tristan added. 

“And here I thought I’ve seen everything since working here,” Jessica snorted.

Slowly but surely, the interns started to recover, and they went back to their projects, anxiously awaiting the supposed return of the single-most confusing teenager they had ever met. 

**&**

Tony Stark made good on his word, and roughly two hours later, he brought back the chatterbox kid that was his personal intern back to the R&D intern labs. 

The small group of interns all frantically stopped what they were doing to put their focus on the hero. 

Alex honestly felt like throwing up. There’s no way this wasn’t a huge prank.

“At ease, guys. What’s got you all so tense?” the man asked with a knowing smirk. 

Damian spluttered off to Alex’s left. 

“You’re- I mean, Mr. Stark, sir, you’re well- you’re _you_!”

“It’s just Mr. Stark,” Peter snorted, earning a thump on the back of the head.

“Brat. Keener corrupted you. I liked you better with all the hero worship.” 

The teen bumped his shoulder. 

“Harley didn’t corrupt me. You did.”

This time Tony snorted. 

“Don’t I know it. Your aunt likes to remind me every time I see her.” 

Peter broke out into giggles, and Tony cleared his throat to address the rest of the room. 

“Right, first thing’s first. Names. Go.” 

It took Alex a few seconds to realize that Tony Stark was asking them for their names. 

After a few moments of hesitation, they all awkwardly introduced themselves. 

“Kiara.”

“D-Damian.” 

“Jessica.”

“Tristan.”

“Alex, sir.” 

Tony clapped his hands together. 

“Beautiful. I probably won’t remember that, but Petey will. He’s going to get to know you all very well over these next few days. The only downside is that he doesn’t like to shut up so feel free to duct tape his mouth or whatever. Don’t let him work on anything that isn’t approved by your sponsor, and for the love of all things holy, make sure he eats. I’ll be sending him with snacks, but he has to take actual meal breaks. Sound good?”

Alex felt his head nod of its own accord. 

“Okay, kid. Be good. Don’t scare off my employees, and make sure you actually go to bed at some point. I know I stole you for the summer, but your aunt will still have my head if she finds out that you aren’t taking care of yourself. You know where to find me if you need something.”

“You live here?” Alex asked slowly, once Tony had left the room once more. 

“Sort of, yeah. I stay with my aunt when I’m in school, but during the summer, I stay here so I can get more time in the lab,” Peter said. 

The teen was looking around the room with a glint in his eyes that made Alex want to run for the hills. Something that mischievous couldn’t possibly be good for his health or his job. 

“So, how’d you get this gig?” Tristan asked, sizing Peter up from a respectable distance. 

If respectable meant far enough away that should this kid spontaneously combust, he would be safe from the blast radius. 

Peter opened his mouth and hesitated. He seemed to be mulling his answer over.

“It’s kind of a long story, but more or less Mr. Stark caught me remodeling some of his old tech that got thrown away. I found a way to make it better than it was, and he sort of took me under his wing. We get along well, and I manage to keep up with him in the lab, so he keeps me around. Says I keep him on his toes.” 

That was a sentiment Alex could completely understand. He had known Peter for maybe a total of seven minutes, and the kid was already flipping his entire world upside down. 

“And you’re here now because you… webbed Mr. Stark’s tools to his desk?” Damian questioned, shooting the kid a wary glance. 

Generally speaking, Tony Stark wasn’t the man that someone played pranks on. 

Peter broke out into a fit of uncontrolled giggles, and if Alex wasn’t so terrified of him, he would find him completely adorable. 

“Dude, how are you still alive?” Damian breathed, eyes as wide as his head. 

The teenager just cocked his head in silent question. 

“If anyone else did that, they would be at the very least out of a job,” Jessica said. 

It was more likely that they wouldn’t live to tell the tale as far as Alex was concerned. 

Peter just snorted.

“I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Parker, but Boss would like me to inform you that he requests that you quote ‘quit yapping and start working,’ or he’ll send Mr. Rogers to quote ‘babysit,’” the AI announced, causing everyone but Peter to nearly jump out of their skin. 

“That’s just freaky, man.” Tristan grumbled. 

Peter folded him arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. 

Alex felt fear race down his spine at the idea of the literal Captain America coming to the lab to watch them. Sure, he, like the rest of the world, was a big fan, but that’d didn’t mean he wanted the super soldier to come _supervise_ them. 

“Tell him that he’s dead to me, and I quit.”

He was convinced this kid liked playing with fire. There were only so many times someone could joke about that before they actually got fired. 

“I feel inclined to inform you that Boss is contemplating sending Ms. Potts down instead.”

Peter yelped and immediately threw his hands up, shaking them wildly. 

“No! No, that’s okay. We’ll get started. No need to drag Pepper away from her very important stuff that she does!”

Even through his absolute terror, Alex was pleased to learn that Peter had some semblance of self-preservation. Everyone was afraid of Ms. Potts. 

Everyone. 

**&**

The three days that Peter spent down in the intern labs, were some of the most fun days Alex had ever had. 

Once everyone had gotten over the initial shock of the whirlwind that was Peter Parker, they were able to appreciate his frightening intelligence and humor. It was hard not to fall in love with the boy, and Alex started to understand how he had Tony Stark, and apparently all of the other Avengers, wrapped so far around his finger.

If he was being honest with himself, Peter was a goddamn delight. 

They finished more projects than they thought possible, and they made improvements on the ones that they had.

When Tony came to pick him up on the third day, Alex was sad to see him go. 

The billionaire seemed to pick up the melancholy vibe in the room, looking between Peter and the group of interns with an amused smile. 

“Don’t tell me you’re all trying to steal my intern,” he teased, draping an arm across the teen’s shoulders.

Jessica practically cooed at the way Peter melted into the man’s side. It had been a long day, and even Peter seemed dead on his feet. 

Alex thought back to the conversation they had with the walking contradiction about being Tony’s secret lovechild. Peter had denied it vehemently, explaining that the man was at most just a father-figure, but seeing the casual affection spoke volumes of their relationship.

“No, sir,” Kiara said with a shake of her head as the same time Damian quipped, “Maybe.” 

Tony laughed, the sound so bright and contradictory to the man’s initial demeanor. 

“And you wondered why I would never send you to the other labs to work on projects. I’d never see you again,” he said turning to Peter.

The kid just gave him a sheepish smile. 

“I had a lot of fun, Mr. Stark,” he admitted. 

Tony chewed on the corner of his lip for a moment and looked between Peter and the other interns. Alex could see the gears turning.

“You all did get a lot of work done together,” he hummed, still lost in his own thoughts. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll let you steal Pete from me twice a week to keep doing whatever nerd shit you guys got up to down here. How’s that sound?”

Peter’s tired eyes brightened, and he lifted his head to look at Tony. Even Alex could admit that he was excited at the prospect of more time with the walking teenage anomaly. His friends made noises of agreement. 

“You mean it?” Peter asked. 

Alex could have sworn his heart melted at the fond look Tony gave the teen. _’Just a mentor’ his ass_.

“Of course, bambino. It’s your summer vacation, and I want you to have fun. If this is what’s fun to you, then who am I to stop you?” 

If Alex had any expectations left about the kind of man that Tony Stark was, they were blown entirely out of the water when Peter flung his arms around the man and embraced him so tight that he let out a huff of surprise.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark!”

“Sure thing, kid. Now, come on. Let’s go back upstairs, and I’ll get dinner started.” 

Peter whooped in excitement and went to dart off toward the back elevators but stopped suddenly and turned to the interns with the brightest smile Alex had ever seen. 

“Bye guys! I’ll see you next week!” he chirped and took off. 

Tony shook his head and followed after him. 

Everyone said their goodbyes and waved at the duo in almost disbelief. No one said another word until the elevator doors slid shut behind them. 

“How the fuck was that the cutest shit I have ever seen?” Tristan asked, still staring at the exit. 

Alex didn’t have an answer because he had the same question himself. 

**&**

As the weeks passed, the small group of interns in the R&D lab came to understand why Tony was hesitant to send him anywhere for fear of him being stolen. 

The teen was a literal ray of sunshine, and he made even the shittiest projects worth working on. Sure, he didn’t shut up, but it started to grow on everyone. They had all collectively claimed him as their little brother, and Peter didn’t seem to mind. 

That being said, there were a few things about the teenager that never seemed to add up.

Peter rarely missed lab days, but when he did, it always correlated with Avenger’s events, and he would always come back moving a little bit stiffer for the next few days. They had once asked him about it, but he would play it off with some excuse that didn’t make sense if they thought about it too long. 

He also claimed to be a natural klutz – his usual go to excuse for mysterious injuries – but Alex never saw him fumble with tools or materials or even trip. His spatial awareness was unparalleled, and it was almost like he could tell when something was about to go wrong. 

Alex had brought it up to the others one afternoon, and they all had similar experiences with the teen. After nearly an hour of deliberation, they chalked it up to just a few of the many quirks of Peter Parker. 

The kid was special. That’s all there was to it. 

At least, that’s what they thought. 

**&**

Peter had been jumpy the entire day. He was mostly silent and kept glancing at the elevator doors like Tony Stark was going to bust through them any second. 

There was a strong chance that he was.

“What’s got you in such a weird mood? Pull any more pranks that’ll get you grounded lately?” Damian teased, sliding into the seat next to him. 

Normally, the light teasing would bring a smile to Peter’s face, and he would be quick with a retort, but that didn’t happen. 

Alex met the concerned glances of the others and knew that he wasn’t the only one worried about the teen. Peter was never quiet. 

“Peter?” Jessica ventured quietly, stepping forward to place a hand on his shoulder. He jolted at the contact. 

That was another thing about Peter Parker. He never jumped. None of them had ever been able to sneak up on him before. 

“What’s going on?” she asked, forcing him to meet her gaze. 

He sighed and glanced at the door one more time. 

“Mr. Stark and the others are gearing up for a mission, and I have a bad feeling about this one,” he admitted, fiddling with a soldering iron that lay unused in front of him. 

Alex tilted his head in confusion. He had never been nervous about them going out on missions before. 

“I’m sure they’ll be alright, Peter. They’re superheroes. They do this kind of stuff all the time,” he said, willing to do anything to just get that look off of the teen’s face before his heart broke. 

Peter met his gaze with an intensity he had him faltering.

“I know, but something just- just doesn’t feel right about this one. I-“ Peter stopped and whipped his head in the direction of the elevator. 

If Alex strained his ears, he could almost barely hear the machine climbing. He still had no idea how Peter managed to just hear things like that in the midst of casual conversation. 

The teen was on his feet, racing toward the metal doors just as they opened, and Tony came out dressed in his flight suit and housing unit on his chest.

While the man was becoming a normal presence in the lab something was different this time. The air was thick with tension.

“Mr. Stark, you need to let me come with you guys!” Peter said, his tone sharp and defiant. 

The expression on Tony’s face was the one that Alex had been used to seeing before they came to know the man – cold, hard, and unbothered. He had just never seen it directed at Peter before.

“I already said no, Peter, and that’s final,” the man snapped. 

“I have a really bad feeling about this one, and-“

“ _No!_ ”

“Why not?” 

Alex was beginning to get uncomfortable. Tony Stark wasn’t a man you wanted to be around when he was angry. Peter didn’t seem to care though. 

“Because you could get hurt. You’re my responsibility, and I’m not dragging you off to-“ 

“You heard what Fury said, what that guy wants,” Peter snarled, staring Tony down with such emotion that Alex saw Jessica flinch out of the corner of his eye. 

“And that is exactly why you cannot go. What is so hard to understand about that?” Tony practically shouted, seemingly uncaring of their audience. 

“I’m not some kid, Mr. Stark. I can take care of myself!”

“Right. Just like on the last mission?” 

Peter recoiled like he’d been hit. Alex did too. 

“That’s-“

“Exactly why you aren’t coming this time. It’s too risky.” 

“Mr. Stark, please!” 

“No means no, Parker. I’m not going to tell you again.” 

_Parker._ In all of their time together, Alex had never heard Tony call Peter by his last name. He’d never heard anything come out of his mouth directed at Peter with so much bite. 

They had a moment to see a spark of consuming rage flicker across Peter’s face before his next words left his mouth. 

“God, I hate you when you’re like this! You’re not my dad so, stop acting like it!” 

Silence. Absolute silence. 

Alex could only watch in mute horror as hurt settled on Tony’s features for just a moment before an invisible wall slammed down, locking the emotion behind it and replacing it with something much more chilling. 

Devastation crumpled Peter’s face as he realized what he said.

“Mr. Stark, I-“ he stopped, the words caught in his throat.

Tony didn’t give him the time to force them out before he was tapping the housing unit on his chest. The armor crawled over him like a second skin, and within seconds, they were faced with Iron Man himself. 

He turned his head to Alex and the others, the emotionless, unforgiving faceplate of the suit sending shivers down their spines. 

“Make sure he doesn’t leave this room,” was all he said before he stepped back into the elevator, his footsteps causing the floor to shudder beneath them. 

If Alex wasn’t mistaken, there was a waver in his voice that had nothing to do with the modulator. 

No one knew what to say as they stared at Peter’s shaking back. They watched as he clenched and unclenched his fists over and over. They had never seen this side of Peter before, and Alex had almost been certain that the teen didn’t know how to be upset or angry. 

“Are you- are you okay, Peter?” Kiara asked softly, taking a hesitant step forward.

She reached for him, but Peter shook his head, stopping her in her tracks. 

“I didn’t mean that,” he said quietly.

They could hear the tears that threatened to spill. 

“He knows that, bud. He knows you didn’t mean that,” Damian said, like he was talking to a wounded animal.

That was the first time he’d heard Damian speak like that. 

He was having a lot of firsts recently. 

A shuddering breath escaped Peter’s lips and he sniffed wetly. 

“I was just so mad because he always treats me like some kid, and I get it because I am, but- I- I don’t hate him. I could never hate him. I can’t believe I said that. What if something happens and that’s the last thing I said to him?”

Panic was rising in Peter’s voice, and Alex was so far out of his element. He wanted to help Peter more than anything, but he was still trying to wrap his head around everything. 

Why had he wanted to go so bad? What happened last time? Who was Fury and what did the apparent villain want so bad that had Peter so keyed up? 

“Oh, Peter,” Jessica said, and rushed forward to drag him into her arms. 

God bless Jessica because that’s exactly what the teen needed. As soon as she wrapped her arms around him, the dam broke. Sobs racked his body. 

Kiara went to them next and hugged him from the other side. Damian and Tristan moved as well, and Alex felt his feet moving of their own accord. 

If someone would have told him five months ago that he would be in a group hug with colleagues that had become something akin to family with Tony Stark’s crying teenage intern, he would have laughed directly in their face.

Yet here he was. 

Tony had once mentioned one afternoon when he came to pick the teen up that Peter was the glue that held the Avengers together. He was the reason they were a family again. Alex didn’t understand how a kid could bring heroes that had been once hell-bent on killing each other back to better than they were before. Sure, Peter was a sweet kid and a genius, but it didn’t make sense. 

At least it didn’t until he realized just how much they had all bonded over him. Even on days that Peter wasn’t in the lab, they had fun and joked around. They weren’t scared of getting fired around every corner or stepping out line. The place had begun to feel like a second home, and it was all because of Peter. 

It was only fair that they would be the glue to hold Peter together when his whole world was crashing down around him. 

Several heartbreaking minutes later, the tears subsided, and Peter lifted his head from where he had buried it in Jessica’s shoulder. 

Alex knew he was embarrassed, but he also knew that no one would hold it against him. 

“Friday?” he called up to the ceiling sheepishly. 

“Yes, Peter?” 

Alex jumped. He still wasn’t used to that, and he wasn’t sure he ever would be. 

“Can you drop the projector and put on my favorite Star Wars movie, please?” he asked, untangling his arms to wipe at his eyes. 

Alex and the others broke out into small chuckles. It was no secret that Peter had an obsession with the franchise. 

“Sure thing, Peter,” FRIDAY said, her voice almost fond. 

“We takin’ the day off, Pete?” Damian asked with a smirk. 

A smile tugged at Peter’s lips as he nodded. 

“Yeah. I think we deserve a break. Look out and I’ll pull the couches over,” he said wriggling until he ducked under the pile of limbs from the group hug. 

Everyone disentangled their selves with a smile as the projector screen dropped from the ceiling and the lights automatically dimmed. 

As Tristan and Damian went off to help Peter move the furniture, Alex wondered what their Division Lead would think if she came in and saw them having a movie night with some random teenager. Something told him that Peter could charm his way out of it if it came down to it. 

Two of the lab’s couches and been pulled over to the front where the screen was hanging from the ceiling. Jessica, Kiara, and Tristan occupied one couch, while Alex, Peter, and Damian had piled up on the other. 

Alex wasn’t sure at what point in the movie he had ended up with a lapful of Peter, but the teen had taken it upon himself to decide there were no boundaries among friends and stretched out, leaving his feet and legs on Damian’s lap and his head on Alex’s. 

If he ran his fingers through Peter’s hair a few times, then that was nobody’s business. 

The movie was almost done when Peter suddenly jolted upright with enough force that had everyone startled. 

“Friday, mute,” Peter said, his voice hoarse and eyes wide. 

Alex knew that look. Peter got that look every time something was seconds away from exploding. 

“What’s wrong?” Tristan asked, rubbing at his eyes. He had almost been asleep. 

Peter put a finger to his lips, kept his eyes firmly on the darkened windows, and rose to his feet with a predator’s ease. 

“It sounds like Mr. Stark, but,” he paused and listened for a second longer, “Wrong.”

The teen turned and pointed to one of the testing chambers. 

“Go. Everyone go right now. Something is circling the building.”

The command was clear in Peter’s voice. This was yet another part of the teen they hadn’t seen yet. There was a shift that Alex couldn’t put his finger on, but there was a new sort of power that emanated off of him that compelled him to listen. It was similar to the power Tony Stark had but also very different. 

The sentiment must have been shared amongst the group because not a heartbeat later, everyone was scrambling to their feet and moving to the testing room. 

Alex wondered when his life got so weird that he listened to a teenager’s directions without so much as a blink. 

Peter followed in after them.

“What’s going on out there, Friday?” he asked, pacing the room like a caged animal. 

“I’m unable to disclose the mission details at this time.” 

Alex watched as Peter sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. For a moment, he thought that the AI was actually going to give them some sort of explanation, but he should have known. No one in the room would have a high enough clearance for that kind of-

“Override it.”

No one said a word as they waited for what Alex could only assume would be a rejection.

Holograms dropped down in front of them, illuminating the room in a soft white-blue light. Report after report came up in front of them, but before they could read any of it, Peter swiped a hand through it all. 

“I got the debrief from Fury. What’s going on outside?” 

Damian choked on the air in his lungs, and Alex wasn’t too far behind himself. He knew that Tony must have trusted Peter. There’s no way he couldn’t considering the tech and gear he worked on, but to have that kind of access? 

“My sensors are indicating a rogue suit circling the building. I’m detecting a heat signature inside the suit.”

Alex’s head was reeling, and the way Peter’s face paled didn’t make him feel any better. 

“Does the team know?” 

“I informed them as soon as I detected it. Mr. Stark is headed this way now. ETA is forty-five minutes.”

“Shit,” Peter hissed. 

“What was Friday talking about?” Kiara asked warily. 

“I have to get to the penthouse. You guys stay here, and don’t move,” he said, already moving for the door and ignoring her question.

“Peter, wait! Mr. Stark said you weren’t supposed to leave this room!” Jessica shouted after him. 

The teen paused and turned to the group of them with a half-grin. Alex was almost relieved to see the usual spark back in his eyes. He just wished it were under less distressing circumstances.

“All due respect guys, but I’d like to see you try and stop me.”

They didn’t have time to question it before Peter was out the door. 

“What the fuck is happening?” Damian asked to no one in particular. 

Alex just shrugged. 

“I don’t know, man, but I don’t like where it’s going.”

There were several noises of agreement. 

“Friday said something about a rogue suit?” Kiara asked. 

“Think it’s one of Stark’s?” Alex responded even if he knew it wasn’t the right answer. Peter’s reaction had told them that much. 

There were a few hums of agreement, but none were hopeful or enthusiastic. Alex just hoped Peter would explain something, _anything_ when he got back. 

The minutes felt like hours in the testing room. Scientists by nature, there wasn’t one person in the room that dealt with idle hands well, but true to his word, Peter came back.

The teen wasn’t in his usual outfit when he came off the elevator. Instead of a science pun shirt and jeans, it was a tight black suit, one that looked eerily similar to Tony’s own flight suit. As he came back into the testing room, his expression was alarmingly grim. 

“Care to share with the rest of the class what exactly is going on here?” Kiara asked again, sharper than she had the last time. 

Peter met her stare and looked like he was considering his words for a moment. Alex knew that they weren’t dealing with the same Peter that they were used to. 

“The Avengers got called out to West Virginia to look into a situation where a man that goes by the Black Hawk has taken it upon himself to start building replicas of the Iron Man suit that are remotely piloted and destroy half of Clarksburg in a temper tantrum. A smaller division team went in first, but they were overwhelmed. Fury pulled some strings and got us intel that said that the Black Hawk’s suits aren’t nearly as advanced as Mr. Stark’s, but he’s looking for a way to fix that. Our best assumption is that he’s going after the only other person in the world besides Mr. Stark himself that knows the suits so extensively.” 

Alex and the other interns stood in total silence. He didn’t miss the casual use of ‘we’ and ‘our’ either. 

Jessica gasped lightly. 

“You,” she breathed. “He’s looking for you.” 

“And when Friday said that she detected a heat signature in the thing that circling the building,” Tristan trailed off. 

_Oh God._

“That’s the Black Hawk,” Alex said in horror. 

The guy that the Avengers were supposed to be fighting wasn’t in West Virginia. He was at the tower, and he was looking for _Peter._ Help wouldn’t be there for another half hour at the least. 

Peter set his jaw and nodded once. 

“I’d put good money on it. The entire thing down south was just a distraction.”

“That’s explains the argument between you and Stark. What made you want to go so bad anyway?” Damian asked. 

Peter flinched at the mention of the fight, and Alex elbowed Damian sharply in the side, earning a squawk of indignance. 

“It’s, ah, complicated,” was all he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Can you at least tell us why you’re dressed like that?” Tristan asked, waving a hand in Peter’s direction. 

“Well, uh, it’s- it’s-“

“Complicated?” Kiara filled in with a raised brow. 

Peter nodded sheepishly. 

“There’s a lot of things you guys don’t know about me that’s incredibly complicated. Long story short, I have some tech for this exact situation, but Mr. Stark and I were working on upgrades after an, uh, incident, and I thought that Friday was done with the updates and integrations, but apparently it’s taking longer than we thought.”

A thought struck Alex that nearly knocked him over with shock. 

“Don’t tell me that you have a suit like Tony’s,” he blurted, eyes wide. 

Peter flushed and shook his head. 

“Not exactly. It’s not an Iron Man suit if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said with a small grin. 

Damian and Tristan bumped shoulders and shared a knowing smile. No one bought Peter’s lie for a second. Nothing else would explain the cryptic answers and flight suits. It made sense that with as much as Tony cared for the kid, he would have something like that designed to protect him if he couldn’t physically be there. 

Kiara, ever the practical one, broke the light-hearted moment. 

“So, this Black Hawk guy, why hasn’t he made a move yet?”

The smile dropped from everyone’s face, including Peter’s. The teen shifted on his feet. 

“Friday has the building on a full blackout. I know you can’t see the windows from here, but we can’t see out, and no one can see in. All of the doors and exits are sealed. The only way people can get in and out is with a high enough clearance, and currently, the only person in the tower with that kind of clearance is me since Pepper and the team are out. Friday has also masked all of the heat signatures so we can’t be detected thermally either. He’s probably trying to figure out where I am and the best way in,” he explained, shooting a wary glance to the door. 

The mood was definitely killed. It wasn’t coming back after being reminded that a villain was flying around Stark Tower looking for a way inside. 

Peter started to say something again when he froze, eyes wide. He took a half second’s glance at the door and then turned back to them. 

“Get down!” He shouted. 

Reflexively, everyone listened. They had just enough time to duck before an explosion of glass and lab equipment went flying. The majority of it bounced harmlessly against the viewing window, but a few of the larger pieces caused cracks to spider all the way across the glass. 

“Is everyone okay?” Peter asked quietly, positioning himself between the them and the door. 

Alex wanted to laugh in hysteria. What kind of question was that? Panic was crawling up his throat by the second. 

Kiara nodded in answer, silently answering for the group. He couldn’t help but be grateful because he wasn’t sure he was able to move if he tried considering he was completely paralyzed from fear. 

Peter kept glancing over his shoulder at the window and then back to them. He had the same look he always had when he was formulating a plan.

“There’s not enough time,” he murmured. 

“For what?” Jessica hissed, her own voice edging on the side of frantic. 

Alex heard the clanking of metal footsteps in the room. Something told him it wasn’t Tony Stark either. 

Peter just shook his head and stood to his full height. If Alex didn’t know any better, he would say that the teen looked taller, or maybe he just wasn’t used to look up from him while cowering on the lab floor. 

“Friday, on my mark,” he said before sliding out of the door. 

“Peter, no!” Tristan said, reaching for him, but he was too late. Peter was already gone. 

Guilt settled heavy in Alex’s gut as he realized that they should have stopped him. There was man out there was looking to kidnap Peter and do God knows what with him, and they just let him walk out the door. Tony was going to fire all of them, and they deserved it. 

“Well, well,” a deep metallic voice drawled, “Look who it is. Just the teenage prodigy I was looking for.” 

Alex scrambled to look out of the testing window. He had to see what was happening. If this dude tried to hurt Peter, he knew he’d have to try and stop him. Peter was just a kid. 

Either the teen was completely fearless and stupid, or he was really good at pretending because he didn’t look phased to see a solid black suit of Iron Man armor stare him down like he was his next meal. Anyone else would have been running in the other direction. 

He just prayed Tony would get there soon. Alex would never forgive himself if something happened to the kid. 

“I’m sorry. I don’t think we’ve met,” Peter said casually, leaning against one of the last few standing lab tables. 

“Correct, Mr. Parker. You may not know me, but I know _everything_ about you,” the man said, taking a few steps forward. 

Peter didn’t move, didn’t even flinch. Alex wanted to scream at him to run. 

“Is that so?” he challenged. 

“I know that you’re a senior at Midtown School of Science and Technology and that you’re at the top of your class with a full ride to any ivy league college of your choice. You’re in their academic decathlon as well. I know that your parents, Mary and Richard Parker, died in a plane crash when you were four and that you went to live with your aunt and uncle, May and Ben Parker, the latter of which unfortunately passed due to a mugging gone wrong when you were fourteen. I know that you started your Stark Internship directly under Tony Stark himself when you were fifteen.” 

The others began murmuring around him. They didn’t even know some of those things about Peter. They knew that he lived with his aunt, but the details surrounding that were never brought up. 

To Peter’s sake, he didn’t falter. His face remained a mask of impassive coolness, something that intensely reminded him who his mentor was. 

“Wow,” he said, sounding almost contemplative. “Seems like you did your research.” 

The man waved his hand dismissively. 

“That’s all public record. Anyone can learn that from looking in the right places. What isn’t public record is the fact that you are Tony Stark’s most prized possession. There is nothing in the world that he cares more about than you. I saw enough of your interactions at a conference in Tennessee to learn that much. I also know that you are the only other person alive that knows his armor just as intimately as he does.”

He took a few heavy steps closer and crowded Peter’s space. The kid still didn’t give an inch. Alex was impressed. 

More terrified than he’s ever been in his life but still impressed. 

“You know, you see to have done a pretty good job on the suits so far. I like the paint job. Mr. Stark would never go for an all-black stealth suit like I asked. He said he’d rather leave the sneaking to the assassins of the family,” Peter rambled, folding his arms across his chest. 

He started to wonder if Peter was able to have a casual conversation with anyone, potential kidnapper and murderer or otherwise.

“The family,” Black Hawk snorted.

Alex could practically see the eyeroll through the helmet, and he idly wondered what it would be like to call some of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen family. 

“Yeah, you know, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Winter Soldier. Sneaking around is kinda their thing,” Peter dropped his arms to thumb at a piece of debris that lay on the table. “I will say that using West Virginia as a distraction to get me alone was a pretty good idea. I’m interested to know the tech behind the remote suits and how they’re controlled. It’s some pretty advanced stuff. I’d also like to know how you found me through Friday’s blackout protocols.”

Stalling. Alex realized that Peter was stalling like an absolute pro.

The man cocked his head, the hydraulics of the suit whirring at the movement. 

“Tell me one of your secrets, and I’ll tell you mine,” came the casual reply. 

Peter shrugged.

“One time I slept over at my friend’s house and accidentally broke his mom’s fancy dinner plate and blamed it on the cat.”

Alex heard Damian choke at the admission. He was just as surprised, but he didn’t dare take his eyes of the duo. 

“What?” Black Hawk asked, his incredulous and confused. 

“You said to tell you a secret. I did. You and me are the only people that know that now,” Peter said with a grin.

Alex had to give it to him. He would have never thought of that. 

“Just you and me, huh? What about those five huddled in that room back there?” 

“Shit,” Tristan hissed.

Kiara gasped and Alex felt his heart drop to his feet. They’d been spotted. 

Peter’s light expression shifted to stone cold instantly. There were no remnants of the easy, playful smile left. 

“This is between us. Leave them out of it,” he snapped, moving until he placed himself in front of them. 

He couldn’t figure out why Peter was defending them. The kid should be trying to get out of the room, _out of the building_. 

“Oh, I’ll leave them alone under one condition. You come with me and tell me everything you know about the suits. I’ll pay you double what Stark pays you. It’ll be like a partnership of sorts.”

“And if I don’t?” the teen challenged, widening his stance to something defensive. 

Alex wanted nothing more than to tear his eyes away and pretend it all wasn’t happening, but he couldn’t. Peter was standing up to and visibly ready to fight a madman in a suit of weaponized armor for them. He didn’t stand a chance. 

“Then I’ll kill each and every one of them, take you with me, and force every bit of information out of that head of yours by any means necessary. Either way I get what I want. Your choice.” 

The man took a combative stance at as well, and nausea rolled in Alex’s gut. 

They couldn’t see Peter’s face, but he could tell by the way his shoulders dropped a fraction that he actually considered the man’s words.

“Don’t do it, Peter,” Jessica pleaded in a small whisper. “Don’t do it.”

“Time’s ticking, Parker. Do you really want all that innocent blood on your hands?” Black Hawk leered. 

Alex was going to throw up. He was sure of it. Neither option was preferable. As much as he didn’t want to die, because _he didn’t_ , he didn’t think that he could live with himself if Peter sacrificed himself for them, and he knew that he would never be able to look Tony Stark in the eye again. 

“Interesting thing about your plan, by the way,” Peter said suddenly as he began circling the man in the armor like a predator sizing up its prey. “It almost didn’t work. I tried to get Mr. Stark to let me go with them, to let me help take out your suits, but he wouldn’t let me. He claimed that it was too dangerous considering your primary target. Funny how that works, right?” 

“Stalling will get you nowhere, brat. Make your decision, or I make it for you,” he snarled as he charged up his palm repulsors. 

“Oh, no. I’m not stalling. I actually wasn’t finished either, and interrupting people is kinda rude. I just wanted to point out that your plan was doomed to fail regardless of the fact of whether I stayed or left with the team like I wanted to. With all that you claimed to research about me, you missed one really big detail.” Peter stopped circling the man and grinned. “But I think I’ll let you figure out what that one is yourself. Suit me up, Fri.” 

For a moment there was silence as even the intruder had paused to see what the outcome of Peter’s stunt would be. Alex was sure an Iron Man suit was about to burst through, and from the glance he took at Tristan and Damian’s feral smiles, he knew they thought the same thing. 

Crashing could be heard from outside. It wasn’t coming from either doors or the private access elevator. It was coming from the hole in the building the man had created upon his arrival. A blur came flying through the room, and the man in the armor had to jolt to the left to avoid being hit by it. 

The object slammed into Peter’s chest with what looked like enough force to knock him over, but the teen didn’t so much as sway. 

Alex had maybe a second to get a good look at what it was before the same technology that Tony’s suit was made out of began to slide over the flight suit. For a second he thought that it was a protective set of armor that would fly him to safety. 

That was until the color scheme registered. It was primarily red and blue, not red and gold, and if the spider on his chest wasn’t a dead giveaway, the mask that covered the recent grin that hadn’t left Peter’s face told them everything. 

He was suddenly back to questioning if he was hallucinating because there was no way that Peter Parker was Spiderman. 

“No fucking way,” Kiara said, her jaw practically unhinged.

“Tell me I’m dreaming. Please tell me that you guys are seeing what I’m seeing right now,” Tristan said, voice cracking. 

“This explains so much.” 

Alex would agree with Jessica if he could believe his own eyes. 

“There was just one teensy-weensy little flaw in your otherwise impressive evil plan. You knew that chaos on that scale would call in all of the Avengers, but you forgot to do a headcount before you took off.”

Peter started counting on his fingers, murmuring the names of the other Avengers, of _his team_. 

“Seems like we’re missing one,” he tapped his chin and hummed in question. “Oh, that’s right! Spiderman.”

The eyes of the suit narrowed suddenly, and Peter shot webs at the palms of the suit, covering up both repulsors, earning a roar of frustration from Black Hawk. 

Apparently, Peter Parker was Spiderman. Nerdy, chatterbox, super genius teenage Peter was New York’s favorite Avenger. It honestly made more sense than Alex wanted to admit, and he started to question his intelligence as he realized that he should have pieced it together long ago. 

The man blasted the webs off of his hands and immediately look aim at the teen. 

Peter rolled to the left and shot a web over Black Hawk’s shoulder, kicking the helmet with enough power to send the man’s head recoiling back as he swung past him. 

Black Hawk fired shot after shot, and Alex started to wonder if that was the only real weapon he had. Peter did mention the fact that the suits weren’t nearly as advanced. 

The arachnid just kept dodging, sending witty remarks the man’s way after every missed shot. It was almost like Peter was toying with him. 

“Can’t we talk this out, dude? I really don’t want to damage the suit considering we’re going to want to take it in to run diagnostics when we arrest you,” he groaned as if fighting this guy was a chore. 

Peter shot a web at the faceplate, covering it in the sticky white substance. There was another shout of frustration and plates on the shoulder began shifting and opening to reveal two sets of micro missiles. 

The eyes of Peter’s suit widened in a way that would have been comical if it were a different situation. With nowhere for him to go, and the four projectiles moving too fast for him to dodge, Alex had to watch as they all connected with the teen, sending him flying hard enough to leave a crater in the dry wall. 

The yelp of pain tugged sharply on his heart, and he heard the shouts of alarm from his friends. 

“Come on, kid. You got this,” Alex said, gripping the windowsill so hard that his knuckles turned white. 

Obviously disoriented from the impact, Peter didn’t have a chance to move before Black Hawk surged forward and wrapped metal fingers around his throat, lifting him off the ground from that grip alone. Peter scrambled for purchase and settled for squeezing the man’s arm hard enough that metal gave under his palms and there was a distorted grunt of pain. 

“No!” Damian shouted, ready to bolt out the door, but Kiara grabbed his wrist. 

“Are you insane,” she hissed. “What exactly do you think you’re going to do out there other than get yourself killed?”

He ripped his arm away from her but didn’t try and make a run for it. 

“I don’t know, but I can’t just stand here and watch this asshole beat the fuck out of Peter,” he snarled. 

“He’s a literal superhero Tristan. If he can’t handle this dude, then you definitely can’t.” 

Alex knew Kiara was right, but he found himself siding with Tristan. Avenger or not, that was still Peter out there. Maybe if they all just rushed out at once, it would cause a big enough distraction to-

“I’d really let go of my kid if I were you,” a deathly calm voice cut through the skies just before the ground shook under their feet from the force of impact of another suit landing in the remains of the R&D lab. 

For the first time in over an hour, Alex felt like he could breathe properly again as the sight of Tony Stark coming in like a goddamned avenging angel registered in his muddled brain. 

The distraction had Black Hawk loosening his grip on Peter’s neck and gave him just enough leeway to pry the fingers off of him with unnatural strength. There was a pained cry as the room filled with the sounds of warping metal and cracking joints and bone. 

“Mr. Stark!” Peter shouted, sounding so relieved. 

The teen was more rattled by the situation than he had let on then.

Tony blasted the intruder directly in the chest with what looked like more power than strictly necessary, and as soon as Black Hawk connected with the wall, Peter pounced on the opportunity, sending web after web to keep him firmly stuck to the wall. 

The genius hadn’t said a word since his initial arrival, but he fired another blast at the man, the light so bright that Alex was forced to look away for a second. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter started hesitantly. 

Tony stalked forward and ripped the black helmet directly off the man’s head, revealing a bloodied sneer.

Black Hawk was an unremarkable looking man with cropped sandy hair, plain features, and hateful green eyes. 

He raised his gauntlet to the man’s unprotected face, and Alex’s felt a stab of fear course through him.

“How _dare_ you,” Tony seethed, his voice icy and enraged. “Not only did you threaten the lives of countless innocent people today, you came into _my_ home and threatened and laid your hands on _my_ kid because of your misguided and delusional jealously. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just-“

“Mr. Stark don’t!” Peter shouted again, throwing himself directly in front of Tony’s primed repulsor and the man in the suit. “Don’t. Please.” 

The only thing that could be heard was the ragged breathing of the three people in the other room. 

“Step aside, Pete.” 

_Pete_. Tony’s voice softened a fraction when he was addressing the teen. It wasn’t his usual tone, but it was better than the last he heard it. 

The repulsor disengaged, but a barrel appeared on Tony’s forearm. Peter seemed to recognize the device because a small bit of the tension bled out of his posture, and he moved out of the way.

A dart shot from the barrel and lodged into the man’s exposed neck. For a sickening second, Alex wondered if Tony actually killed him when he saw his head loll forward.

“There. A chemically induced nap. That should keep him out until someone gets here to collect him.”

Oh, thank God. He didn’t think he could handle witnessing a death.

His relief was short-lived as Tony turned to face Peter fully, still encased in his suit. Any bit of tension that had left the teen, came back double as he faced the man. 

The mask retracted into the neckline of his suit, and the sight of Peter’s massive, watery eyes broken Alex’s heart. 

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark. I didn’t mean what I said,” he croaked pitifully. 

Tony continued to silently stare at him, and superhero boss or not, Alex was overwhelmed with the urge to come out of the room and strangle the man himself. Peter always snarked with Tony, said things that would get most people fired on the spot. To see him cowering under the man’s gaze was something new and utterly terrifying. 

“Are you okay?” Tony asked softly, concern dripping from every word. 

Peter nodded as tears continued to well in his eyes. 

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark, but please. You have to believe me. I understand if you’re mad at me and don’t want to see me again, but-“ 

Peter stopped abruptly when the Iron Man suit started crawling away and back into the housing unit on Tony’s chest to reveal the man’s stricken face. A second later he was wrapped in the genius’s arms, his head pressed into his shoulder.

“It’s _okay_ , bambino.”

Peter choked on a sob as he wrapped his own arms around his mentor, no, his father. Alex didn’t care if they weren’t related by blood. Peter was a Stark in every way that mattered.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. _I’m sorry_ ,” he chanted through his tears.

Tony shushed him softly and rubbed soothing circles into his back. 

“Hush now, Spider-Kid. I know you didn’t mean it. You were just frustrated, and I wasn’t treating you fairly, and for that, I’m sorry. I should have never snapped at you like I did in the first place,” Tony paused to take a shuddering breath. 

Alex watched as the man squeezed Peter tighter for a moment. 

“I got the alert from that something was at the tower, and I swear Peter, that was one of the scariest moments of my life. I left you wide open to be targeted and didn’t even realize it. When Friday told me that it was one of those suits and it had somehow managed to find you,” He shook his head like he was dismissing the thought. “I’m just so glad that you’re okay.” 

Just in case Alex’s heart wasn’t already in a million tiny pieces on the floor around him, Peter lifted his tear-stained, flushed face and looked up at Tony with the most hopeful expression. 

“You’re not mad at me?”

Tony shot him an incredulous look. 

“Mad at you? No, kiddo, I’m so proud of you. Not only did you keep yourself and essentially the rest of the tower safe, you kept your friends over there safe too.” 

A smile started to spread across Peter’s face, and it was like the world was returning back to its axis. 

Tony released Peter just enough to turn and wave them out, but he kept his arm draped over Peter’s shoulder, reminding Alex of the first time he saw the two together. 

He and the others came out of the testing room on unsteady legs and stood before the duo. 

“You guys alright?” Peter asked. 

Alex wasn’t sure whether we wanted to hug the kid or punch him in the face. 

“You’re asking us if we’re okay after all that just happened?” He questioned. 

Tony snorted. 

“Welcome to my world. This twerp will be one foot in the grave and worry if anyone else is hurt. I’m convinced he’s the sole reason I still have a heart condition.” 

Peter elbowed him lightly in the side but still smiled nonetheless. 

“We’re all good, Peter, a little shaken up, but we’re good,” Tristan said, shaking his head. 

The teen nodded, and Alex was having a hard time taking his eyes of the Spiderman suit. He still couldn’t picture Peter as the hero even though the irrefutable proof was standing directly in front of him. 

A vaguely panicked look spread across Peter’s face as he turned to Tony. 

“What about everyone else? Are they okay?” 

He must have been asking about the Avengers. God, that was weird still. 

“Yeah, buddy. Everyone is alright. Cap will be a little sore in the morning, and Nat’s got a nasty cut on her arm, but they’ll all live. Bucky and Hawkass got into an argument on who got the most headshots,” Tony said with a dramatic eyeroll. 

“Who won?” 

Peter’s question was valid since Alex was honestly curious too. 

“Absolutely no idea. I try not to listen to them for any longer than I have to. It feels like it lowers my IQ just by being around them, but you can ask them yourself when they get back, and after everyone decides they’re done making sure you’re still breathing.”

Tony’s smirk and Peter’s groan told him all he needed to know. All of the Avengers mothered Peter to death, and the idea was heartwarming. The kid deserved a big family, especially if what the unconscious man in the corner said was true about his parents and uncle.

“That brings me to my next point,” Tony said, turning his attention away from Peter and to them. “I’ve been monitoring this floor’s progress a lot closer since Peter started helping out, and I honestly want to say that I’m impressed. Individually, you all are very capable scientists, and together, you’re a powerhouse. I know this is an odd time to do this, and it’s incredibly informal, but I’d like to offer you all a promotion and a sizable raise.”

Alex had decided that the world stopped spinning. He wasn’t sure he heard the man right. 

“Sir?” Kiara asked. 

“Seeing as you now have information way above your pay grade and you have to sign stacks of paperwork up to your eyeballs anyway, there are five positions open in the R&D department for the Avengers tech, and should you take it, you’ll all be promoted to independent researchers with the freedom to work on Avengers clearance projects as you see fit with access to unlimited resources and your own team of interns should you need it.” 

“You’re serious?” Damian asked, grinning from ear-to-ear. 

Peter was bouncing on the balls of his feet in his excitement for them. 

“As a heart attack,” Tony nodded, a smile tugging on his own lips. 

“I- I’d be honored, sir,” Alex stammered. 

The others rushed out their own acceptances with reverence and awe. He couldn’t believe it. _Independent researchers_. They wouldn’t have to work on specific projects under other division leads, and it wasn’t just research on SI tech, it was _Avengers_ technology. 

“That also means you’ll be seeing a lot more of me considering most of my work is on our gear,” Peter said with a grin. 

“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing,” Jessica snorted, tears in her own eyes. 

Tony tucked Peter back into his side. 

“Great. Now that all of that is settled, how about we all head to the living room while I order some dinner. I think we’ve all had a traumatic afternoon, and the least I can do is feed you all,” Tony said with a warm smile. 

_The least he could do?_ He just set the five of them pretty much up for life with the job offer, and he felt like he hadn’t done enough?

“Don’t get me wrong, sir, but I feel like you’ve done plenty. You’ve given us more than we could imagine just now,” Tristan laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Tony waved his hand at them and shook his head. 

“Nonsense. Besides, I think I should formally introduce you to the men and women you’ll be designing new gear ideas for,” he said casually. 

Tony didn’t mean that- _holy shit. He did_. 

Peter’s bright gaze met his own and confirmed that Tony did in fact mean that they would be having dinner with the Avengers. 

Alex suddenly thought back to the moment all those months ago where he caught Peter scavenging through the hazardous chemicals cabinet like a goblin in the night, and wondered how exactly he got to where he was. It was by a stroke of luck that they happened to have an excess of the material that the hero needed and got caught by him. If he hadn’t have stayed late that night, he probably never would have met the teenager that he considered an honorary little brother and maybe never would have gotten as close to the men and women standing next to him. 

Maybe his life would have made a little more sense, and maybe he wouldn’t have already knocked a few years off his life, but it definitely wouldn’t be nearly as fun or rewarding. 

Maybe it was all worth it. 

He looked at Peter and Tony gazing at them all expectantly and then looked to the others around him, taking in their wide smiles and teary eyes, and thanked any higher power that might have been listening for simple coincidences and superheroes.


End file.
